The Twelve Days Of Christmas

December 25, 2012

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me eleven pipers piping, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me twelve drummers drumming, eleven pipers piping, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

Your task is to write a program that determines how many gifts were given in N days, and use it to compute the number of gifts given in 12 days. When you are finished, you are welcome to read or run a suggested solution, or to post your own solution or discuss the exercise in the comments below.

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11 Responses to “The Twelve Days Of Christmas”

This problem statement leaves some ambiguity, as the number of gifts given in N days depends exactly on which of the 12 days gifts were given. In addition to the parameter N, a consecutive range or non-consecutive set of days must be specified in order to know how many gifts were given in total.